Architect: Scituate senior center needs new building

Mary Whitfill The Patriot Ledger thelittlewreck

Tuesday

Jan 8, 2019 at 7:28 PMJan 9, 2019 at 8:54 AM

SCITUATE — The completed architectural plan for a new Scituate Senior Center calls for constructing a new, stand-alone building for seniors and renovating the gym building of the old Gates Intermediate School to house the town's recreation department. The plans estimate a total project cost between $18 million and $20 million.

Selectmen approved a $724,900 contract with Boston-based Bargmann Hendrie +Archetype last July after the old Gates Intermediate School was chosen as the site of the future senior center.

"The (Council on Aging board of directors) has been on board all along and are very happy with this," said Linda Hayes, director of the Scituate Council on Aging.

The former Gates property currently includes four buildings: the "B wing" is the central building that faces First Parish Road; the "C wing" is to right of the main building on the other side of a small parking lot; the "A wing gym" is on the left of the central building; and the "A wing classrooms" are in a separate building behind the B Wing.

Selectmen have already approved tearing down the former school's B and C wings. In the plan presented Tuesday, the A wing gym building would stay and the A wing classroom building would be torn down.

Residents have spoken out against tearing down the 103-year-old central building, but Bargmann said reusing it would be expensive and impractical, costing between $25 million and $27 million. Instead, the plan calls for building a replica of the central building to preserve its look and adding a new, $8.5 million senior center onto the back.

Plans presented at Tuesday's meeting depict a two-story senior center, the first floor of which would house two multi-purpose rooms, a kitchen, a cafe and offices for the center's staff. The second floor would be home to an arts-and-crafts room, a wellness center, a conference room, two program rooms and space for the veteran's affairs department.

The new space would include approximately 15,000 square feet and would leave in place a large green space on First Parish Road. An attached parking lot would have 63 spaces.

The plan also calls for the renovation of the school's gym building for the recreation department at a cost of about $4.5 million. The first floor of the recreation center would include a spin studio, two fitness rooms, two program rooms, a children's room, the Scituate Community TV studio and space for staff. Upstairs would be a gymnasium with a full-sized basketball court, restrooms and storage space.

A parking lot attached to the recreation center would include 56 spaces, and a 27-space lot would go behind existing tennis courts. An additional $6 million in costs are expected for site work, the television and veterans spaces, demolition and abatement, and incidentals.

The architects say they're working with the historical society to preserve pieces of the current 1916 central building. If this plan is approved by town meeting voters in April, Bargmann predicts bidding could begin as early as August.